William Brown was a man who recorded a handful of blues on Sadie Beck's Plantation on July 16, 1942 for
Alan Lomax. Once thought to be the same man as the Willie Brown who played with Son House and Charley Patton--and was immortalized in Robert Johnson's
Crossroad Blues--the consensus now is that William Brown was a different man, about
whom we know next to nothing. Certainly, the handful of recordings we have that feature him supports this. The Willie Brown who recorded
Future Blues and
M & O Blues was an archetypal Delta bluesman, with both songs being stripped down versions of Charley Patton's
Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues, among others, and
Pony Blues, respectively. The
William Brown who recorded
Mississippi Blues,
Ragged and Dirty and
Make Me a Pallet on the Floor plays and sings nothing like that Willie Brown. That we know nothing about him and never heard any more of his music is one of the many tragedies of recorded blues.
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posted by y2karl
on Aug 30, 2011 -
15 comments
William Eggleston ...an American(a) photographer takes intensly colorful photographs of junk, hotel rooms, road sides. Its been done by lots of photographers, and unintentional imitators, but he's made a real name for himself. So much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens.
posted by celerystick
on May 1, 2009 -
17 comments
The fierce urgency of now and then. On May 24, 1963, concerned about the potential for
race-related riots nationwide after Birmingham, Attorney General
Robert Kennedy met with group of prominent black intellectuals and artists, such as
Kenneth Clark,
Clarence B. Jones, and
Harry Belafonte, in a meeting organized by
James Baldwin (YouTube 7:07... and also
6:27 and
6:28, if you're interested.) The tone of this emotionally wrenching meeting, however, would be greatly influenced by the presence of fifteen-year-old
Jerome Smith, a nonviolent
CORE volunteer who was being treated in New York for jaw and head injuries sustained after a brutal beating by segregationists in Mississippi.
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posted by markkraft
on Nov 3, 2008 -
12 comments
Rowan Oak: In 1930, William Faulkner purchased what was then known as "The Bailey Place," a large primitive Greek Revival house that pre-dated the Civil War standing on four acres of cedars and hardwoods. Take a virtual tour of the home that housed this great American writer.
posted by Fizz
on Aug 11, 2008 -
11 comments
The Da Vinci Cup Think of it as a gathering of tribes... There's a lot of ritual involved. It's probably the biggest single unifying event that our species can muster. Forget the Olympics. Not even close.
Poor poor China.
Keeping the romans entertained since BC.
posted by Unregistered User
on Jun 25, 2006 -
11 comments
Diaries of the Lewis and Clark Journey. American Journeys has a collection or primary source documents about the Lewis and Clark Journey across America, including the diary of Sergeant Charles Floyd (the only member of the expedition to die en route), Jefferson's letter to Clark where he suggests the expedition, and 63 engravings of Places and People. If you're into history, you might also want to vote on
Wisconsin Turning Points, a ballot to determine the most interesting topics in Wisconsin History.
posted by rev-
on May 21, 2004 -
3 comments
William Gibson now on William Gibson then. Yep, that is indeed me, though nothing I'm saying there, at such painful length, is even remotely genuine. They were offering $500 for someone to monologue about the summer of lurve, etc., and I was (1) somewhat articulate, and (2) wanted desperately to get my ass out of Yorkville ... $500 was serious money
posted by delmoi
on May 1, 2003 -
10 comments
